Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-10-15
Tha pirl hrno hcr head but did not

The girl hung her head. but did not
answer. Had he been merely scornful at
her loss of caste, she could be defiant; but
he was evidently sorry for her.
why have you done this, NiyaY' the
young man continued reproachfully.
'"You were not in poverty; you were hap
py; why, then, did you leave home for
such an occupation rs thist"
Eiya looked at the mats silently. Her
lip quivered, the blush that mounted from
her throat to her forehead faded away,
pursued by a deadly paleness, and her
limbs trembled SO much that she dropped
on the ground and hid her face in her
broad sleeves.
An old man entered from the veranda,
and, after bowling to Kampei, deserted
the girl m~otionless, with her head leaning
against q partition.
"Howr' he cried, angrily, ''moping In
this way with the house full of guests
troublesome fellows, too, like those am
urai, who curse and threaten If they are
delayed but n moment. Up this in
slant, 1 say, or l shall use my whip on
your ~shouldersr'
Niya seemed glad to escape from Kam-
pei's questions, and she withdrew, fol-
lowed by the master OF the house.
Drawing the tobacco stand toward him
Kampei filed and lit his pipe, and while
smoking puzzled himself in endeavoring
to explain Niya's presence there. The
singing in the adjoining chamber grew
more boisterous, and sometimes kampei
heard the clash of swords, the voices OF
the frightened attendants, and the en-
treaties of the proprietor. 1t all Jared on
the young mans feelings, and were 1t
possible he would have left the place.
But there were only miserable villages
between the chaya and Morioka, and,
apart from his fatigue, the way was
lonely and dangerous on account Of rob-
bers.
He strolled TO the back of the inn, and
pursued a little tagged path toward q
rustic summer house erected on an arti-
fetal mound. A slight railing on either
side divided the path from the garden,
where the summer chrysanthemums, the
peonies and pinks were bursting into
bloom, while the camellia, azalea and
primrose gave forth their expiring strength
in a few delicate flowers. Some late
violets peeped timidly from the shadow OF
a huge rock; around the lattice work Of
the summer house vine tendrils struggled
with dainty clematis, and cherry blossoms,
from which the house was named, bloomed
in gay profusion everywhere.
Sitting there In the silence Of the even
ing, the soft landscape spread out beneath
him, the odor of the garden mounting to
the arbor, Kampei almost forgot his re-
cent annoyance and INDUCED in pleasant
dreams of the future. Dusk was advanc-
ing, when he was startled by seeing Niya,
who had approached noiselessly, standing
in the doorway. She uttered a little
scream on finding the summer house occu-
pied, and was about TO go away, when
Kampei recalled her and desired her in a
harsh voice to sit down. She obeyed, the
blood meanwhile mounting Indignantly TO
her forehead; and when kampei looked
severely at her she hastily brushed away
the traces Of receIe tears and said DELI
antly:
Grown not thus, good Kampei; ! am
not O-Suba, your b%etrothed; | am only
Niya. Are not my parents dead? And
who, then, viii dare to reprove me il | do
what l pleases Go to Morioka, Kampei,
and let you and O-Suba forget the
wretched Niya, who will never return to
her home"
She rose to her feet while speaking and
was about to leave, when Kampei again
stopped her and said sorrowfully:
"You have chosen a mean calling that
your parents would have rejected as vul-
gar and disgraceful; their spirits are dis
pleased, and you can no more visit their
| tombs or pray before the god shelf with a
peaceful mind. There was a time that |
thought / loved Niya more than O-Suba,
and now-yah, yahr" he continued scorn-
fully, after a pause, ''get away, you low
,ra,tycaI Won - No lnnuar ANYTHING IN
me but the miserable tea house attend
antl'
He turned away from her with a gesture
of anger. She clasped her hands to her
side and staggered against the frail wood
work, making the whole structure
tremble; then, looking at him wildly, h
uttered a heartbroken cry and rushed
down the path, past the house and across
the broad road.
Kampei followed the girl with his eyes,
and. when he saw her climb the bank on
the roadside and spring into tie river flow
ing slowly beyond, he muttered to himself:
'The death Of n dog is good enough for
one with so mean a soul!'
But better thoughts quickly came, II
he determined TO try and save her.
Niya rose to the surface OF the water,
and her clothing buoyed her for some mo-
ments. She did not struggle, u kept her
hands thrust into the sleeves OF her robe.
She sank again in the smooth current, and
as her face became buried her fOrtitude
deserted her, and she threw up her arms
with q stifled shrek.
The bubbles that marked the spot where
she sank were almost gone when kampei
reached the bank, Invested Of his sandals
and outer garments. He sprang into the
stream. and succeeded in Selling the
drowning girl, who, though nearly in
sensible, grasped him tightly about the
neck, hindering his movements. kampei,
finding the place shallow, put his feet
upon the ground, but to his terror they
sank into deep mud, and he felt the water
gradually rising upon him. He strained
every muscle, but the water still mounted
until they were both covered. A roar as
of thunder filled his ears, and his head
seemed about to burst, but he managed to
preserve some GOODNESS. By q violent
effort he loosened Niya's frantic embrace,
and, still grasping her clothing, struggled
out of the mud and gained a firm foothold,
exhausted and gasping for breath.
Though his strength was almost gone
and his knees tottered, he held Niya to
his breast, looking %anxiously into her
face. Her eyes were closed, and her head
fell heavily on his arm, the hair, from
which the fastenings were gone, falling